Automatic extensible standpipe



Nov. 10, 1959 S. KOVAC, JR

AUTOMATIC EXTENSIBLE STANDPIPE Filed Feb. 15, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 jwvehzoi" 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 s. KovAc, JR

Jie @en for Seve jfwac, .fr

.orffqyo' AUTOMATIC EXTENSIBLE STANDPIPE Nov. 10, 1959 Filed Feb. 15, 1955 Nov. 10, 1959 s. KovAc, JR

AUTOMATICl EXTENSIBLE STANDPIPE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 T71 ver? for ,Sez/e rovac, J5

Filed Feb. 15, 19155` United States Patent AUTOMATIC EXTENSIBLE STANDPIPE Steve Kovac, Jr., Chicago, lll., assignor to Sewer-O-Matic, Inc., a corporation of Illinois Application February 15, 1955, Serial No. 488,364

3 Claims. (Cl. 210119) This invention relatesto means for preventinglthe. over'- ilow of fluid and has particular relation to automatic means for preventing such overflow.

From time to time mechanisms adapted for the carrying off of fluids, for example, sewers arranged'to carry oif water from a building, will ll with such uid, and will back up to a point where an overow into the building may occur. The. most common example is the drain in the floor of a household basement. Upon occasion of unusually heavy rainfall, for example, the water will back up through the sewer and will ow` into the basement. Various means have been provided in thepast to cope with theproblem. Onesuch known means involves the use'ofa sum-p pump which automatically draws off the water iiowing onto-the basement floor, but such mechan-isms are expensive.v Another known means consists primarily ofa-lengthofvpipe whichis secured to the sewerfand which extends'upwardly above the basement iloor a distance deemed suii'icientto reach somewhat above the expected water level. Such solid lengths of pipe so arranged, however, prevent the use ofthe drain when installed and constitute an obstruction rising above the floor level. As a consequence, such iixed lengths of pipe are normally not installed, the owner4 relying upon suicient warning to-install them4 before possible overow conditions occur. Since such conditions occur often whenthe owner is not present in the vicinity or when such owner'is asleep; this last-named device'is not considered completely satisfactory. Further, such standpipes require the use of threaded metal sewer pipe, yet avast number ofhomes are equipped with non.- threadedy clay pipe sewers; Simple check valves have alsoy been .provided which permit ow of iluid in one direction, ire. to drain but absolutely prevent how inthe oppositedirection, i.e. they prevent any back up How. They objection to such check valves, however, is that they arealso installed in threaded iron drain pipes andthat the pressure of the watercreated thereagainst may be such as4 to-result in breakage of the sewer pipe or other drainage means.

Accordingly, it isV one purpose of my invention tovproducea device; which shall be economical-and vsimple to manufacture and to install and which shall, at the same time, be effective to prevent overflow ofuid draining installations.

Another purpose of my inventionV is to provide an over.- flow-preventing device which shall operate automatically uponthe occurrence of overflow-creating conditions.

Another purpose of myA invention is to provide an overilow-preventing device which shall operate automatically in response to overflow-creating conditions to prevent such overflow.

Another purpose of my invention is to provide an over- How-preventing device which shall be effective to prevent overflow under a predetermined set of conditions but which shall be also effective to permit such overow upon the. occurrence of separate predetermined conditions.

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Another purpose is to provide an overflow-preventing `device which may be utilized also as a drain device-when overflow-creating conditions are not present.

Another purpose of my invention is to providean automatically operating, economically manufactured and installed in presently-existing drain mechanisms without substantial modification of the latter.

Another purpose is to provide an automatic overowpreventing device incorporatingl a normally closed-valve operable in response to the normal drainage of fluid to open said valve.

Another purpose is to provide a device for sewers and the like having a normally closed valve and meansfor manually opening said valve, said means comprisingalso indicator means to indicate the position of said valve.

Other purposes will appear from time to time in the courseA of the specification and claims. l

rfhe present application'is acontinuation in part of my application Serial No. 465,916 filed November 1, 1954 for Automatic Extensible Standpipe now abandoned.`

l'illustrate my invention more or less diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a side view inA cross section;

Figure 2 is a side elevation in partial-cross sectiony on a reduced scale and illustrating my device in overflowpreventing condition; t

Figure 3 is ar view taken on the line 3 3 of `Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a View taken on the line 4-4'0f Figure; 2 on an enlarged scale;

Figure 5 is a detail view in cross sectionon an' enlarged scale illustrating a sealing* meansemployedin., my invention;

Figure 6 is a sidevviewA in-cross section and: illustrating a variant formof-my invention;

Figure. 7 is al detail viewl illustrating a variantform of vaive usable with the device of Figure 6'.

Like parts are indicatedby, like symbols throughout the specification andtdrawings.

Referring now to thev drawings and particularly to .Figure l,v the numeral 1 generally indicates a portionof a building, for example, a basement floor, the top or floor surface of which-is indicated generally by the numeralZ. An opening 3 may exist in the floor 11 and mayy have fixed therein a drain mechanism, suchas the sewer pipe, generally indicated by the numeral 4. The top edge S'of the piped. is spaced downwardly somewhat from the. iloor surface 2. It will' be'realized` that in such structuressuch downward spacing of the top edge 5v exists to provide space fora drain screen normally formed .of metal which may seat upon theedge 5 within the opening 3' and may have its upper surface flush withk the floor surface 2.

Positioned within the pipe 4 and constituting a cylindrical, hollow liner therefor is the liner member 6., .The liner 6 may have an outwardly extending`annular flange A7 at its upper edge and the lower surface 8'of the flange '7 may rest upon the upper edge 5 of the pipe 4'. The inner wall' surface itl of the liner 6 may be inwardlyconically offset adjacent its upper edge as at 1.1. The inwardly',l upwardly conicaledge 11 may joint the upper, annular surface 12' of the flange 7` which extends across the liner wall surface 10 a distance Suflicient tomeet the conical wall 11. The liner member 6 may be secured in any suitable manner in. position with relation tothe piped;H

Slidably mounted within the liner wall 1@ is the holl low, generally cylindrical section: member 15. The member 15 may have an outer cylindrical surface 16 spaced inwardly from the wall surface lil of the -member 6. Adjacent its lower edge, thte tubulary section member. 15- may have an annular enlargement 17. The enlargement 17 may have a downwardly, outwardly coni-` calV upper wall surface. 18. Adjacent. thelower: edge of the wall surface 18, the enlargement -17 may have a channel 20 in which is seated a sealing means 21, which may comprise, for example, a rubber, generally cylindri cal portion 22, which may be clamped between the inner wall surface 10 of the liner 6 and a lower, cylindrical portion 23 of the enlargement 17. The remaining porA tion 24 of the sealing means 21 may be seated within the channel 20. A pressure member 25 may be posi tioned between the sealing member 21 and the enlargement portion 23, as shown generally at 25 in Figure 5, and may consist, for example, of a metallic expansion spring member.

The section member 15 may have, adjacent its upper edge, an outwardly extending, annular flange portion 30, the lower surface 31 of which seats upon the upper surface 12 of the ange 7. Similarly, the member 15 may be adjacent the upper edge of its inner wall surface 32 the upwardly, inwardly conical, offset inner wall portion 33.

Slidably mounted within the hollow, tubular member 15 is a second tubular member 35, which corresponds generally in shape though in lesser diameter with that of the member 15. The upper, annular ange 36 of the member 35 corresponds generally with the anges 30 and 7 of the members 15 and 6 respectively, except that it may be longer than the flange 30, just as the ange 30 1s longer than the flange 7 when it is desired to have the three flanges extend to a position adjacent the walls f the opening 3, or, in other words, to have the diameter of the flanges 36, 30 and 7 generally equal to the outer diameter of the pipe 4 and inner diameter of the pipe 3. The member has adjacent its lower edge the enlargement 37 with its sealing means 38, which correspond generally with the enlargement 17 and sealing means 21, as above-described in relation to the member 15. It will be observed that the member 35 is of less extension than the member y15 and that, accordingly, its enlarged lower edge portion is positioned above the corresponding portion of the member 15. The enlargement 37 has a downwardly, outwardly, conical wall surface 39 corresponding generally with the surface 18 on the enlargement 17 of the member 15.

Slidably mounted within the cylindrical member 35 is the inner, generally hollow, cylindrical tube section 40. 'I'he section 40 has a lower end enlargement 41, the outer surface of which includes the downwardly, outwardly, conical, upper wall surface 42 corresponding generally with the surfaces 39, 18, above-described. The enlargement 41 carries the sealing structure 43, whlch corresponds generally with the structure indicated by the numerals 20--24, described above in relation to the end enlargement 17. The inner surface of the enlargement 41 is formed somewhat differently from the inner surfaces of the enlargement 37, 17 in that the inner surface of the enlargement 41 includes a lower, generally upwardly, inwardly conical surface 44, the purpose of which will appear hereinafter, and an upper conical portion 45.

The inner cylindrical wall surface 46 of the member 40 may have secured thereto a number of deflector members 47, which may extend in angular planes within the hollow member 40.

It will be observed that the member 35 carries adjacent its upper edge the inwardly, upwardly, conical, ofIset portion 50 and that the angular relationship of the surface 50 with the inner cylindrical wall surface 51 of the member 35 corresponds to the angular relationship of the enlargement surface 42 therewith.

A drain screen is indicated generally at S. The screen 55 may, when desired, be a generally circular plate with an annular, outer edge portion 56 resting upon the upper surface 57 of the ange 36 on the member 35. A plurality of axially-disposed apertures 58 may be formed in the screen 55 in general alignment with the area encompassed by the inner cylindrical member 40. The member 40 may be secured to the under surface of the drain plate 55 in any suitable manner after the device has been assembled.

A spider 60 may have its radial arms secured to the inner surface 46 of the member 40 adjacent the lower end enlargement 41 and spaced upwardly therefrom. Movably mounted within a central aperture 61 in the spider 60 is a pin member 62 having a head portion 63 positioned above the spider 60 and of sufficient area to overlie the spider 60 about the opening 61. Secured to the lower end of the pin 62 is a bracket member 65, which may be generally in the shape of an inverted U, the lower ends of which may be connected to a float member 66. While a hollow metal float 66 is illustrated, it will be realized that the oat 66 could be formed of a variety of materials without departing from the nature and scope of my invention. The iioat 66 has the generally upwardly, inwardly, conical, upper edge surface 67, the angular relationship of which, with the vertical axis of the member 40, corresponds to that between the surface 44 on the enlargement 41 with the vertical axis of the member 40. The float 66 may have the generally axially located passage 69 extending therethrough and a check valve mechanism, generally indicated by the numeral 70, may be positioned within the passage 69. As an example, I illustrate the valve portion 71 having a lower valve face 72 which is urged upon its seat 73 by a spring member 74 surrounding the valve stem 75 and compressed between the stem enlargement 76 and the lower surface of the valve seat 73 which may, for convenience, be a portion of the upper wall of the oat 66 positioned about the opening 69. The valve portion 71 may have the downwardly and inwardly conical portion 80 generally centrally located thereon to insure the proper seating of the valve face 72 on the seat 73.

It will be realized that, whereas I have described and illustrated a practical and operative device, nevertheless, many changes may be made in the size, shape, number and disposition of parts without departing from the spirit of my invention. I therefore wish my description and drawings to be taken as, in a broad sense, illustrative or diagrammatic, rather than as limiting me to my precise showing. For example, the annular anges 7, 30, 36, with their inward conical surfaces 11, 33, 50, respectively, are shown at 1&0 as being threadedly secured to the liner 6 and hollow tube sections 15 and 35 and the drain screen 55 is shown at 101 as threaded upon the tube section 40, but it will be realized that these members may be secured together in any suitable manner without departing from the nature and scope of my invention.

The use and operation of my device are as follows:

As uid, such as water, begins to back up through a drainage means, such as the sewer pipe 4, the water first contacts the float 66, which, as best seen in Figure 1, extends below the lower end enlargement 17 of the member 15. As the water continues to rise, it forces the lloat upwardly until the oat surface 67 contacts the surface 44 of the member 40, forming a watertight seal therebetween.

As the water continues to rise and to exert upward preissure against the float 66, the float 66 is caused to rise further and to carry with it, in an upward direction, the member 40. p

Should the water continue to rise, it will bring the surface 42 on the member 40 into contact with the conical surface 50 of the tube section 35, and, as the water continues to exert upward pressure against the float 66 and through it against the member 40, it will cause the member 40 to carry upwardly with it the member 35.

The above-described process is repeated as the water continues to rise and the surface 39 on the member 35 is brought into contact with the surface 33 on the membei 15.. f Continued rise of the water will cause, finally,

the lsurface 13 totcomezinto contactwith the-.surfacelll on the liner member. 10.

While three slidably movable, tubular. standpipestructures are illustrated in the drawings, it will be realized, that the number of such sections and the length thereof may be varied without departing from the nature and scopeof my invention.

Figure l illustrates my extensible standpipeini tele: scoped or draining position, and Figure 2.A illustrates my device in extended or overilow-preventing position..

Should the water continue to rise after the surface 18 hasv been brought into contact. with the. surface 11. or, in other words, after the lower edge of the outermost movable pipe, section has been) broughtinto. contact with a `stop means adjacent the upper edge of a pipe, such as sewer pipe 4, there must bea provision for permitting continued rise of the water to occur in order to` prevent the creation or" pressure within the sewer pipe;Y beyond a given amount.

Accordingly, I provide the channel 69 in thefloat 66 and the spring-loaded valve 71. The` water willgbe held beneath the iloat 66, as illustrated in Figure 2, until such time as the pressure-thereof rises toa point considered dangerous to the sewer pipe 4 or other drainage-mechanism. At this point, the spring 74 will be overcome and the valve 71 will open to release such pressure and to allow water to flow upwardly into the member 40. The deilectors 47, which may be provided when desired, are eiective to slow down any possible rush of water through the member 40. Should the member 40 become iilled, the apertures 58 permit the water to flow out of the member 40. lt will be understood, however, that sufcient telescoping, tubular sections, similar to the sections 15, 40, are provided and that they are of sufficient length to reach, when extended, to a level above that which might be expected to occur in the area and that such overow through the apertures 58 will rarely, if ever, occur. The device could be arranged, for example, to permit the apertures 5S to be raised to a level above the level of the ground, in which case an overilow would be created through the apertures 58 when the device is extended only under circumstances wherein a llood level above the ground would be created, in which case ooding of the basement or other structure in which my device may be installed would have occurred in any case.

When my device is in the position illustrated in Figure l, water may be drained from the oor surface 2 through the aperture 5S and downwardly through the member 40, between the ribs or radial arms of the spider 60 and about the iloat 66 without difficulty and essentially in the normal manner. Where a larger drainage area is desired, it will be realized that the pipe 4 could be cut away adjacent the lower edge of the liner 6 and that the diameter of the liner 6 and members 15, 35, 40 could be enlarged, and my device could be positioned about the upper edge of the pipe 4 within an enlarged opening 3 in the loor l without departing from the nature and scope of my invention.

Similarly, when the vertical portion 4 of the sewer pipe is or" suilicient extension beneath the oor surface 2, a single standpipe section 40 with its float means may be movably or slidably supported within such vertical portion, the intermediate sections l5 and 35 being dispensed with under such circumstances. Since such drainage vertical portion is rarely over a matter of inches in length, however, I find it preferable to provide a plurality of nested, concentric hollow tube sections, as illustrated in Figures l, 2, and 3.

Referring now to Figure 6, I illustrate a variant form of my invention. ln this form, the stem 62 may be provided with an upward extension 62a. The extension 62a has an upper terminal portion 62b loosely positioned within a hollow sleeve or boss 56a depending centrally from the drain plate 56. As illustrated in the drawing, the upper end 62C of the extension 62a is ilush with the drain cover 56 when the ilow valve is in closedposition andaI slot62dr may be provided in the,end.62cth e purpose of=l which willappear hereinbelow. The pin extension 62a mayv be guided intermediate its ends by-slots 47a formedin the inner portions of the tluid dellectors 47. A spring-retaining flange 200` may*v be secured to and annularly extending from the pin 62, and alight spring 201 may surround the pin 62 and may be positioned between the spider 60and-the ilange 201. The remaining structure illustrated in Figure 6 corresponds to the structure shown in Figures 1-5.

As illustrated in Figure 6, the spring` 201 is effective toA maintain the iloat 66 in engagement with its seat 44. Since the oat is thusnormally seated, thedrain is, in elect, closed, thus, sealing oit the, area above the drain from sewer gases, insects, etc. valve is normally seated, no opportunity is-permittedfor any back-flowing water to get Abehind the iloatvalvevand thus prevent its reachingv its s eat. Similarly, ythe `seatis protected against the, pressure of foreignmatter which might be caught between the lloat valve Kand thek seat upon initiation of back ow--and which might thereby prevent the oat from completely seating, whichwould, of course, fail to prevent an overflow.

The spring 201, however, is set so as to exert a predetermined force to insure that, upon the normal drainage of water downwardly through the inner tubular member 46, the weight of `the water above the oat 66 will be such as to overcome the resistance of spring 201 to open the float valve and permit the drainage of water downwardly through the device.

Should it occur that the i'loat valve illustrated in Figure 6 would become stuck `to its seat 44 as a result of long periods of nonuse, for example, land should water thereby be prevented from draining downwardly through -the member 46, the person attempting to drain the water, `as might occur for example upon the occasion of washing a basement ilo-or, has only to press downwardly on the end 62C of the pin extension 62a to unseat the iloat 66 to permit drainage of water through the member 46. Similarly, if any foreign material is carried downwardly with the drainage water and if such material should be deposited on the seat 44 or the seating surface 67 of the tloat 66, thus holding the float off its seat, the spring 201 will be prevented from returning the float valve `to seated position and the end 62C will not return to a position flush with the top of the drain cover 56, lthus indicating to the person who has just finished draining the water through the tube 46 that the valve has not returned to its seat. A tool may then be inserted in the slot 62d and the stem and oat valve may be thereby rotated to dislodge any material between 1the mating surfaces ofthe valve and its seat.

It will be realized further that the provision of an extensible How control Standpipe permits the ready inspection of the float valve and `the seat as well as the seals 22, 38, 43 when the device is formed of a transparent plastic. All that is necessary is that the members be manually moved to the extended position illustrated in Figure 2 and the entire mechanism may then be thoroughly inspected. It will be realized further that the concept illustrated in'Figure 6 may be employed with a variety of valves without departing vfrom the nature and scope of my invention, but, for convenience, I illustrate in Figure 6 the valve-mating surface 67 and the iloat 66 as shown in the earlier figures. For example, -in Figure 7 I illustrate on a reduced scale a Ivariant form of valve, such as the valve 66a. It may also be advisable to provide means for sealing the springs 201 and '70 against the corrosive action of the iluid with which they would come in contact and from foreign material in such uids, and such seals could be provided without departing from the nature and scope ofmy invention, the present showing being merely diagrammatic.

Similarly, since thefloat Iclaim:

1. An automatic overow control device for sewers and the like comprising a plurality of telescoped hollow tubular members, an apertured drain plate carried by the upper cylindrical edge of the innermost tubular member, an elongated stem extending axially through the innermost of said tubular members and having its upper end adjacent the upper `surface of said drain plate, a main valve member carried by and at the opposite end of said stem, said innermost tubular member having a valve seat formed at its lower cylindrical edge, yielding means operable against said stem and said innermost tubular member and effective to maintain said main valve member on said seat, said main valve member being effective to seal said innermost tubular member against an upward ow of uid thereinto, a second valve positioned in said main valve member and yielding means effective to urge said second valve toward a seat formed therefor in said main valve member said second valve being formed and adapted to move off its seat in response tothe upward ow of liquid at a predetermined pressure against said main valve member and to permit uid owing at said pressure to enter said innermost tubular member.

2. The structure of claim 1 characterized by and including a tool-engageable conformation at the upper end of said stem and accessible through said drain plate, said stem and main valve member carried thereby being rotatably supported by said innermost tubular member whereby said stem and main valve member can be rotated in response to rotation of said tool-engageable conformation.

3. The structure of claim 2 wherein the upper end of said stem is yieldingly urged into a position adjacent the upper surface of said drain plate by said yielding means when said main lvalve member is on its seat.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 234,209 Slye Nov. 9, 1880 1,197,377 Kluin Sept. 5, 1916 1,643,818 Manning Sept. 27, 1927 1,982,555 Van Der Horst Nov. 27, 1934 2,478,976 Modlin Aug. 16, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS 92,086 Sweden Apr. 21, 1938 

